Some schools insist on hiring only buses with safety belts installed
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 April 2008 2155 hrs

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SINGAPORE : Some schools insist on hiring only buses with proper seat belts installed, although they cost more.

The issue of safety belts for children has been in the spotlight after an eight-year-old boy died when he was flung from his school bus in an accident on April 24.

Currently, school buses are not compelled by law to install seat belts for students.

But the children at Pre-school By-The-Park are taught to always strap up when they are inside the school bus or any other vehicle. And the school only hires a bus with proper safety belts in place, as well as one that has an attendant.

Loy Wee Mee, director of Pre-school By-The-Park, said: "If a bus doesn't have any of these, then we wouldn't consider them because these are really pre-requisites in ensuring the children's (safety).

"(Our policies on) seat belts, safety on the bus, and behaviour on the bus are (enforced) on the excursion buses as well. As a mother of three, I recognise that seat belts save lives. So if it's something I enforce on my children, I expect the school to enforce it too."

Siti Aisha, a school bus attendant, takes full responsibility once the children get into the vehicle. However, children are not always the most willing passengers.

She said: "My experience is, first they'll buckle up in front of me, then after that when I turn behind, they'll move around. I say, where's your seat belt? They'll say 'Oh auntie, (we) feel uncomfortable.'

"But (they) need to buckle (their) seat belts. It's for (their) safety. If anything (happens), I will need to answer to the principal and to (their) parents."

Said Leow Beng Kiong, a school bus driver: "If the children refuse to belt up, we'll inform their parents and let them handle it. If they still refuse, I'll ask the parents to fetch the children themselves. Safety is priority.

"The seat belts act as extra precaution. These children are young and if they fall asleep, the seat belts can also prevent them from falling off the seat. Accidents are unpredictable. We want the children to be safe."

Leow charges between S$80 and S$130 monthly for each child and no parent has complained about the price. - CNA /ls